Authorities believe they have caught the people behind a rash of catalytic converter thefts and solved attempts to steal money from a pay tube at a park in Fond du Lac County as well.
Dawson Gustafson, 25, of Odanah, and Mason Schelvan, 24, of Ashland, face a total of 14 charges.
Schelvan faces a total of 10 charges including six counts of criminal damage to property, one as a party to a crime, three counts of removing a vehicle’s major parts without consent and one count of burglary to a building or dwelling as a party to a crime. All have an enhancement for repeat offenses.
Gustafson faces one count of burglary of a building or dwelling, two counts of criminal damage to property, and one count of misdemeanor theft.
If convicted of all charges, Gustafson faces a more than 14 years of imprisonment and Schelvan faces more than 26 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement received several calls starting in November 2022 regarding damaged or stolen converters in the Bay Area, along with reports of a damaged cash donation box and pay tube.
The first report occurred on Nov. 25, when a victim at Myers Beach in Bell reported his catalytic converter wasn’t stolen, but was damaged to the point it wasn’t working properly.
On the same day, another victim reported her converter was stolen in the town of Bell at the Lost Creek Falls trail parking lot. She called the National Park Service to see if there was any footage of the incident. A National Park Service ranger provided photos and video evidence of a red vehicle at the scene.
Two days later, on Nov. 27, law enforcement received another call reporting a stolen converter from a vehicle on the side of Highway 2 in the town of Eileen. That same day, law enforcement received a call reporting the cash donation box at Siskiwit Shores Boat landing in Bell was smashed and pried open. No cash was reportedly stolen.
Then, on Dec. 4, law enforcement received a call involving the theft of a converter from a pickup truck parked at Ashland Ford/Chrysler in Hughes.
The following day, Dec. 5, a law enforcement ranger provided photos of a red vehicle with the same vehicle registration number as the red vehicle at the Long Lake Recreation Area in Fond du Lac, where the pay tube was damaged and $80 was taken.
On Dec. 6, Ashland police reportedly stopped the vehicle, which was driven by Schelvan.
While speaking with law enforcement, Schelvan admitted to several thefts and property crimes in the Bay Area. Schelvan said he and Russell Claremboux, 23, of Superior were driving the red vehicle and Claremboux used a saw to remove the converters. He said they then took the stolen converters to Scott Dennis, who owns Highland Auto/Beyond Repair Auto Salvage in Eileen.
Dennis admitted to law enforcement to buying about 15 converters from Claremboux and Schelvan within a four-week span. He did not have any documentation of the transactions because they were cash sales, according to the complaint. Dennis admitted that when he gets enough converters, he drives to Hayward and meets with an individual who drives them to Legend Smelting and Recycling in Illinois.
While speaking with law enforcement, Gustafson said “he was too high on methamphetamine to remember all the places he and Claremboux went to break pay tubes at,” according to the complaint.
In a separate case involving Claremboux in which he is accused of stealing a converter from a bus belonging to the Bad River Casino, Claremboux admitted to law enforcement that he was involved in the thefts of “probably 20 converters in the area,” according to the complaint.
Schelvan had a plea/sentencing hearing on Sept. 3. The results of that have not been posted on CCAP.
Gustafson has a plea/sentencing hearing on Sept. 17.
Claremboux has initial appearances in the coming days for three cases that include charges connected to the thefts of converters.
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